Squash Victories Unite the Trinity Community

On February 25th, Trinity College Men’s Squash Team celebrated their seventeenth championship win. As I was sitting in the crowded gymnasium surrounded by Bantams, students from other schools, parents, and athletes; I could not help but think of the camaraderie and community squash fosters. After winning the title, the excitement on not only the team’s faces, but also fellow Trinity college students was overwhelming. It must be extremely gratifying for the players to see their hard work all season pay off and to be supported by such a large portion of the Trinity community.

However, seeing how many people attended the event motivated me to gather just what it meant to them to be able to see Trinity’s Division I squash team win their seventeenth championship title. I took the liberty and asked some people who attended how they felt after seeing their school win this amazing title and what it ultimately meant to them to be a part of it. The responses I received all echoed one universal statement of community, support, and pride for their school. Students told me that there are not many forums where individuals can come together and show their pride for being a Bantam, but this event gave them that platform. Furthermore, many students stressed how seeing players from all over the world come together and play for Trinity for the result of the team winning their seventeenth championship title was a unique experience in itself.. Moreover, after watching the matches, many students were impressed with the squash teams’ work ethic and dedication to the sport. One student even said that “watching them play was extremely satisfying,” and that “it was nice to see them in their element and all their hard work paying off for them.”

Squash is undoubtedly one of Trinity’s most popular sports.. However, beyond it being entertaining to watch the matches, the squash team here at Trinity also represents athletes from all over the world working hard and doing what they are most passionate about. While squash on the exterior may seem like a sport directly tied to a privileged Northeast Liberal Arts college, it truly represents the unity of players from all over the world. It is the diversity of Trinity’s squash team that makes it unique and more than a sport that is sometimes intertwined with a wealthy, privileged background. This diversity also sets the squash team apart from other sports here at Trinit;, where students primarily come from schools located in the United States. Ultimately, while an exciting sport to watch, squash represents more than a sport Trinity can afford to fund, but also illuminates the success of hard working individuals and the power of community.

Personally, I was struck by the amount of support in the gymnasium, but also by the vast spectrum of the people that attended. Students from every gradation year here at Trinity were there supporting the team. As I was walking into Ferris Gymnasium to watch the tournament, I spoke with a woman whose reason for coming to watch the championship encompassed the legacy of Trinity’s squash team and what it ultimately means to be a Bantam. This woman approached me and asked me if I could direct she and her husband where to go to watch the championship. Upon walking with the couple, I asked them if they knew anyone playing on the team that they were rooting for. She replied that her son graduated from Trinity in 2012 and loved to watch the squash matches. The couple articulated to me how her son remembered how excited and supportive the Trinity community was at all the matches and that she had always wanted to be able to come to a championship. It was their son’s fond remembrance of Trinity and his recollection of the sense of pride that echoed through each match that made them want to see Trinity squash in action. Nevertheless, as I pointed them towards the direction of the courts and heard cheering rebounding off a recently won match, I could not help but think that they were undoubtedly not going to be let down; even six years later.